Arrow will appeal to fans of The Dark Knight trilogy

If you happen to be a fan (amongst many of us) of the Christopher Nolan-directed The Dark Knight trilogy, you need to stop everything you’re doing and start watching The CW’s new series Arrow (don’t worry, you can find the pilot episode on Hulu).

Please note that I will not be posting spoilers for the series. I want everyone to go watch it for themselves.

So why do I compare Arrow to The Dark Knight? Well, to start with the stories of the two heroes are nearly identical. A spoiled rich kid has something tragic happen to him and then he decides that he will take it out on his city’s villains. In this case, The Arrow is the lone survivor of a shipwreck and has had to live on an island alone for five years. And he has a list of people that he needs to enact vengeance on in order to make right the wrongs told to him by his father (who did not survive the shipwreck).

But there are other similarities, as well. Oliver Queen (aka Arrow) lives in a city that is very similar to Gotham. It is dark and dreary and is full of people who would take advantage of the poor and disenfranchised. And there seem to be a whole score of thugs running about.

The action, too, is very reminiscent of The Dark Knight trilogy, in that it’s fast and entertaining to watch and had a lot of moments when I just wasn’t sure if Arrow was going to escape or make it out alive.

So, in essence, The CW’s Arrow series feels a lot like watching a Christopher Nolan-directed work right in the comfort of your own home, all on your t.v. set.

And that, in my opinion, is awesome. Arrow has already proved to be much darker and more violent than I initially expected. And the lead actor, Stephen Amell, makes a very convincing vigilante hero. When he returns to his home after five years of being stranded on the island, the emotion of his following scenes is palpable.

I also loved seeing Paul Blackthorne turn up as Detective Quentin Lance and I hope we see much more of him in future episodes. And of course, there’s always John Barrowman to look forward to in future episodes.

The pilot episode also has a moment at the end where I was going “WTF?” And that will keep me watching next week. I can’t wait to see what happens next.